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Members of several tribes will travel to Washington DC next week in an attempt to get lawmakers to revive a program aimed at helping them afford healthcare due to toxic poisoning.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Yvette Fernandez has this preview.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, was a federal program established in the 1990’s, aimed at providing financial support to people who were exposed to nuclear fallout and uranium mining, dating back to World War II.

It’s particularly impactful for the Navajo Nation, where uranium mining was critical in the making of the atomic bomb.

“We look at this as a social justice issue.”

Spokesperson Justin Ahasteen says the latest version of the bill should be brought up for a vote.

“They were paid with sickness and death. And that’s really just appalling and this bill gives them a chance to survive.” 

Members of several tribes including Navajo, Laguna Pueblo, and Zuni have raised funds to travel by bus from New Mexico to Washington DC. 

Stay tuned for more coverage on this story next week from the Mountain West News Bureau

Marie Dexter holds her great-grandson on her lap as drummers and dancers perform. (Photo: Ben Townsend)

A small group gathered in Nome, Alaska this week to honor two decades of Norton Sound Health Corporation’s Tribal Healing department.

Attendees were treated to speeches from the tribal healers, Native food, and a special drum performance.

KNOM’s Ben Townsend has more.

The names of the children are Almeda Heavy Hair, Bishop L. Shield, and John Bull.

They died at the school in the 1890s.

A repatriation delegation brought them home, which was followed by a wake, reinterment services, and a community feed.

Earlier this month, the Office of Army Cemeteries began disinterring the remains at the Carlisle Barracks cemetery of the children, and eight others from other tribes including from South Dakota and Oklahoma.

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Canada’s doctors have formally apologized for the role of the medical profession in past and on-going harms to the country’s Indigenous people.

More from Dan Karpenchuk.

Dr. Joss Reimer, president of the Canadian Medical Association, made the apology in a Victoria, B.C. conference hall during a somber ceremony.

“The Canadian Medical Association is deeply sorry for the harms First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples have experienced and continue to experience in the Canadian health system. The conditions they have faced is deplorable and we are deeply ashamed.”

Dr. Reimer says the actions and inactions of the medical profession, throughout history, led to racism, neglect, and abuse, and the profession has not lived up to the ethical standards it is expected to uphold.

Read the apology.

Dr. Paula Cashin, vice chair of the CMA’s board of directors, talked about Indian hospitals, substandard care, forced sterilization, forced relocation of Indigenous patients far from their homes and families, and … 

“Medical experimentation was conducted on Indigenous adults including studying the effects of nutritional interventions and experimental tuberculosis vaccines and treatments. We still do not know the full extent of medical experimentation on Indigenous children or adults.”

Dr. Reimer says her organization is committed to owning up to its past wrongs and correcting them.

Some elders said the apology was a good first step, but acknowledged that rebuilding trust will take a long time because of the damage.

Some Native groups say they want more than an apology; they want concrete actions.

In many states, the political landscape can be combative, disenfranchising, and even hostile.

In South Dakota though, one group is looking to reach voters who may have more power than previously thought.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene checks in with one Native-led, get-out-the-vote effort.

Communities Organizing for Unified Power (COUP) has announced its latest effort to register and mobilize Indigenous voters through the HeSapa Voters Initiative.

Natalie Stites Means is COUP executive director.

“We’re a non-partisan group – we don’t work with either political party – we’re solely interested in more Native Americans registering to vote. We feel like Native Americans are the future of South Dakota, we’re the majority-minority, and it’s been demonstrated our voting rights are definitely inhibited by the conditions we’re facing here.”

Advocates say conditions like long drives to polling locations, few if any satellite polling locations, and a lack of public transit options on reservations contribute to an already well-established wariness of government on reservations.

Stites Means says it’s not all about Washington D.C. though.

“What we’re really interested in is our local, state, city elections. We have seen really small margins put people in office, and we want to help galvanize our community to care about these civic issues and public policy issues that are creating these conditions where we are disenfranchised and disempowered.”

For Stites Means, that means taking a hard look at economic development in reservation country.

“Particularly in South Dakota, half of (Native Americans) live at or below the federal poverty rate. In contrast, the white population at least in 2020 – only 8% of them lived below the federal poverty rate. Voting is a social determinate of health.”

The get-out-the-vote effort will continue through the election.

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Photo: Bryce Kirk, chairman of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council. (Jackie Coffin)

Montana is a key battleground for control of the U.S. Senate this year.

Tribal leaders say the Republican candidate needs to apologize for offensive comments that perpetuate racist stereotypes.

Yellowstone Public Radio’s Jackie Coffin has more.

Native Americans in Montana have reliably voted for democrats for decades, helping U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) win three terms.

Republican newcomer Tim Sheehy is recently polling slightly ahead of Sen. Tester, but is facing scrutiny from tribal leaders after comments he is said to have made at a couple of private fundraisers were leaked to the media.

Here’s one about a trip to the Crow reservation for a cattle branding event.

“Great way to bond with all the Indians to be out there, while they’re drunk at 8 a. m. and you’re roping together (laughs).”

Sheehy is said to have made the comments last November.

In August, the Char-Koosta News, a publication of the Flathead Indian Reservation, posted the audio online.

The source of the audio has not identified themselves.

Sheehy’s campaign has not disputed the authenticity of the recording.

Tribal leaders recently held a press conference to discuss the comments.

“You know, we promote love, unity, respect. We’re not drunks. We’re a lot more things than what he said.”

Bryce Kirk (Assiniboine-Sioux) is chairman of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, which represents 12 tribal nations in three states.

“My message to Tim Sheehy is to apologize, is to say, I’m sorry. For once let your pride aside And sit there and say, I’m sorry for the remarks that I made.”

So far the Sheehy campaign has not responded publicly to tribal leaders. Soon after the audio was leaked, a campaign spokesperson told the Associated Press, “What folks are insinuating about him, that’s just not who he is.”

Sylvan Covers Up, a member of the Crow Tribe, says Native people are willing to give Sheehy a chance.

“He’s probably a swell guy. You know, he’s a veteran. I respect him for that.”

But Covers Up says the leaked comments are not good for the candidate.

“And they talk about it at different powwows now. And so it’s making a mark.”

Indigenous people make up about seven percent of Montana’s population, a significant voting block in a race that’s expected to be decided by a very slim margin.

(Photo: Hannah Habermann / Wyoming Public Media)

$100 million in federal funding is headed toward U.S. states to reduce flammable trees and underbrush – particularly in areas close to homes and communities.

And in Wyoming, that chopped timber will be going to tribal members to heat their homes.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Hanna Merzbach reports.

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New policies aimed at addressing Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) will soon be enacted statewide in Alaska, after legislation was recently signed into law.

The bill expands resources and training for police across the state – and is drawing praise from a longtime MMIP advocate.

KNOM’s Ben Townsend has more.

The legislation establishes a new MMIP Review Commission, a nine-member body responsible for reviewing unsolved MMIP cases and submitting reports to the Alaska Legislature.

The commission includes seats for representatives from victim advocacy and Alaska Native tribal organizations.

Deilah Johnson, an advocate and organizer with the Village of Solomon, said the creation of the commission is a much-needed step toward addressing the crisis.

“At the state level, there was just not a lot of discussion or acknowledgment in addressing any of the overwhelming statistics surrounding the issues facing indigenous populations, specifically women and young girls.”

The bill also mandates Indigenous cultural training for new police officers in Alaska.

The training will be especially impactful in rural communities like Nome, where the police department recruits officers that only live in the community while serving their two week rotations.

Johnson believes the cultural training will help officers deepen their understanding of the people they serve.

“They’re on and off without any real sensitive training to the people that they are protecting, understanding, and needing to work into the different culture and lifestyles of the people.”

The bill also requires the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to file a missing persons report to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

They need to do so within 60 days of a report being filed at the local level.

The DPS will also employ at least two full-time MMIP investigators.

While Johnson acknowledges the bill is a step in the right direction, she hopes that the momentum won’t stop here.

“I really would hope that this is going to continue to generate the awareness surrounding these issues, keep the conversation going, and allow for additional partners to jump in and build additional resources.”

The new law will take effect on January 1, 2025.

Oak Flat protest in Washington, D.C. in 2015. (Photo: Wendy Kenin / Flickr)

Apache Stronghold, a coalition of Apache people and their allies, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Oak Flat in Arizona from mining by Resolution Copper.

This week, the group formally filed its appeal to the high court, after the full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rehear the group’s case, Apache Stronghold v. the U.S., in May.

Earlier this year, a panel of 11 judges on the appeals court narrowly ruled against the group.

Oak Flat is sacred to Western Apache and other Native people who say the proposed copper mine violates religious freedom.

Apache people and their allies hosted a day of prayer outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Dr. Wendsler Nosie Senior of Apache Stronghold says Oak Flat is their Mt. Sinai, and he is praying the justices will protect their place of worship.

Resolution Copper says the project will supply copper, create jobs, and boost Arizona’s economy.

Resolution Copper told KJZZ News the case “doesn’t present any question worthy of Supreme Court review.”

The Supreme Court will first have to agree to consider the case.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Tribal Government Relations, the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, and the Eastern Oklahoma VA Medical Center are hosting a Homeless Veterans Stand Down.

The event next week in Okmulgee, Okla., will focus on identifying and assisting homeless veterans across Eastern Oklahoma.

A number of services will be provided including health care, disability benefits, free legal aid, and social security.

According to the VA, many veterans are unaware they could be eligible for benefits.

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Photo: Antonia Commack hugs Terrie Boskofsky. (Rhonda McBride)

Presumptive death hearings are common in Alaska.

Hikers, hunters, and boaters often go missing, never to be seen again.

But there are also those who disappear from the streets of Anchorage, like three Alaska Native women who crossed paths with serial killer Brian Smith.

Earlier this year, Smith was convicted of murdering two of the women earlier but never charged in the death of a third victim.

As KNBA’s Rhonda McBride tells us, her family used a novel court procedure to seek justice.

The five-year commemoration of Cassandra Boskofsky’s death is coming up this month.

(Photo: Rhonda McBride)

Her photographs were found on Brian Smith’s cellphone in October of 2019 shortly after his arrest — battered, bloody and lifeless images — that were made public just before Smith’s sentencing this summer.

In a courtroom last week, poster-sized images of those photos were on display at a trial the family requested to receive a death certificate.

Michael Livingston, an advocate for an advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous people, helped her family prepare.

“During the trial, we didn’t have an attorney. We were just bunch of bumbling amateurs doing the best we could. I think everything considered, we did pretty good.”

In a procedure known as a presumptive death hearing, it’s the family’s main job was to prove to a jury of six people that Boskofsky is no longer alive, something the Anchorage police have yet to confirm. But Judge Brian Clark told the court the standard of proof is lower than it would be in a criminal trial.

“So if you find more than 50% that something is true, it is in fact true under the law for this kind of a hearing.”

Truth is what the family hoped the trial would bring to light.

With a judge and jury present, they could demand answers.

One of Cassandra’s cousin’s, Marcella Boskofsky-Grounds, oversaw the hearing.

“Det. Lee, is that Brian Steven Smith’s foot in the photographs?”

Boskofsky-Ground’s first witness to the stand was Det. Brendan Lee, who revealed for the first time that a patrol officer had identified Cassandra in the photos almost five years ago.

One of the lingering questions for the family: Why did it take police so long to share what they knew?

“To this day, at the Anchorage Police Department, we have not been able to 100 percent identify the female in the photos as Cassandra.”

That’s because her remains have yet to be found. In the end the jury sided with the Boskofsky family – and decided that with or without remains – Cassandra is not only dead, but also a victim of a homicide.

Antonia Commack, an advocate for the Boskoskofski family, calls this an important victory.

“They didn’t have to put down homicide, but they did. They could have put down unknown, but they put down homicide and that’s huge.”

Commack says she hopes the Boskofsky’s success will help other MMIP families navigate the criminal justice system.

The group of participants at the Wyoming Wildflower Women Climbing 101 event at Sinks Canyon outside of Lander. (Photo: Hannah Habermann / Wyoming Public Media)

This summer, Wyoming State Parks started partnering with Shoshone and Arapaho Fish and Game to bring more folks into their all-women’s outdoor program.

Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann joined the group for a day of climbing outside of Lander.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, a group of nearly twenty women put on harnesses, tie into ropes and try their hand at climbing on pocketed limestone rock faces. They’re with Wyoming Wildflower Women, which organizes all-women outdoor adventures around the state.

Jolene Brown is Northern Arapaho and is a special-ed teacher at Arapaho Elementary School.

“Honestly, I would have never come rock climbing if, you know, if it wasn’t offered. I’m scared of heights, and that’s probably not something I would have done. So, I got out of my comfort zone a little bit.”

Brown’s been bringing her co-worker Kelli Davis with her to programs throughout the summer. As for next year?

“I’ll try and come back with her. And be with her all the way, I guess”

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Image: A Facebook post and email from the owner of the Grand Gateway Hotel calls for a ban on “Native American” guests. (Josh Haiar / SDPB)

Retsel Corporation, the parent company of the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, S.D., has filed for bankruptcy protection.

This comes amid a lawsuit from a Native advocacy network accusing the hotel of restricting the access of Indigenous peoples to the property.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene reports.

In 2022 Connie Uhre, the owner of the Rapid City hotel, posted on one of her social media accounts that “we (are) no long(er) allow any Native American on property”, following an act of violence.

That sparked deep controversy, a social media firestorm, and multiple lawsuits leveled at the hotel, both federal and civil.

The civil suit, filed by Rapid City-based Indigenous advocacy network NDN Collective, was due to begin Monday, September 9.

However, the announcement of bankruptcy protection has effectively halted the proceedings.

Nick Tilsen is CEO of the group. He describes mixed feelings as the announcement delays what he sees as a strong case against Retsel.

“The Retsel Corporation basically had no out at this point. There’s a cost to racism. When you become morally bankrupt as a result of racism it could lead to you becoming financially bankrupt. It’s no small thing to go through bankruptcy. It does absolutely feel like justice is delayed at the moment, and it doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel good because we wanted to see racism on trial.”

Sunny Red Bear is associate director of organizing with the group.

She says the situation and legal battle represents a culture of institutionalized discrimination in the Rapid City area.

“We’re seeing this in our community, and they need to face their roles in maintaining that inequality. The fight for justice in Rapid City won’t stop until every business is held accountable for the harm it has caused Native people. So, we’re challenging Rapid City to a choice – continue allowing racism to fester, or stand up and reject it once and for all.”

The trial is now on hold until bankruptcy proceedings are completed.

State Rep. Andi Story (D-AK) speaks during a House Education Committee meeting on May 3, 2024. (Photo: Eric Stone / Alaska Public Media)

A bill adding more Indigenous languages to Alaska’s official list recently became law without the governor’s signature.

Its passage means Alaska now officially recognizes 23 Alaska Native languages.

KTOO’s Clarise Larson reports.

The new additions to the list are Cup’ig, Middle Tanana, Lower Tanana, and Wetał. Middle and Lower Tanana were previously classified as just one language.

Juneau State Rep. Andi Story (D-AK) sponsored the bill. She is running uncontested for reelection this year.

She says it’s a significant win for all residents in the state.

“I just think it enriches all of us, Native and non-native, to know about our language and culture and embrace it.”

The law expands and renames a council that advocates for the survival and revitalization of Indigenous languages in the state.

Previously called the Alaska Native Language Preservation and Advisory Council, it’s now called the Council for Alaska Native Language.

The majority of the state’s Indigenous languages are critically endangered. And, in a report released this spring, the council stated that Alaska Native languages are at a “crucial juncture”.

The chairman of the council, X̱ʼunei Lance Twitchell, strongly advocated in favor of the bill in testimony earlier this year.

Chair Twitchell teaches Alaska Native languages at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau.

“Every single Alaska Native language is sacred and irreplaceable. It contains concepts that cannot be translated, it contains things that cannot be replaced, and that give a sense of fulfillment and wholeness and health to Alaska Natives and to non-natives in Alaska.”

Two seats will be added to the council and it will be moved from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Education and Early Development to better reflect the council’s focus on education.

 

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Photo: Grand Chief Cathy Merrick. (Courtesy Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs)

Condolences have been pouring in over the weekend, after the sudden death of a senior Native leader in Manitoba.

Cathy Merrick was the Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

As Dan Karpenchuk reports, she collapsed outside a courthouse on Friday.

Police and those on scene performed emergency care before she was taken to hospital.

The Assembly of Manitoba chiefs confirmed her death in a statement and said it would honor Merrick’s legacy and continue her work.

In 2022, Cathy Merrick became the first female chief in the history of the organization and then she was re-elected in July.

On Saturday, Indigenous leaders came together to mourn her loss.

Here’s Pimicikimak Cree Nation Chief David Monias.

“She leaves a big void, a big footprint in our hearts in Manitoba, especially in the Indigenous communities across Manitoba and across Canada.”  

Merrick was described as a tireless advocate for Indigenous health care and for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Premier Wab Kinew says she was instrumental in calling on Manitoba to conduct a search of a landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women.

 “And so, when we think of the legacy she leaves behind in calling all of us to work together as one province to make this a place where we live up to that phrase that we’re going to honor in a few weeks-time, where every child matters, that’s why I say that she was our grand chief, chosen by the chiefs, but a servant of all people of all backgrounds.”

Merrick was also remembered for her positive attitude and guidance.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described her as a relentless and effective advocate for First Nations peoples, especially those most vulnerable, and a leader that inspired so many.

(Photo: C.J. Keene / SDPB)

The death of a Rapid City, S.D. teenager has broken hearts across the Native community, as members of the community seek change.

Many attendees of a recent candlelight vigil asked for one thing – an end to gun violence.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene has more.

Xavier White Whirlwind was shot in the head on East Fairlane Drive between Ivy and Elm Streets on September 2.

The 13-year-old died later in the hospital.

Dominick Stands is Xavier’s father.

“I’ll remember his personality, and his little spirit. He had a free spirit. He wasn’t afraid to get into anything or try anything new. He had courage, braveness, no fears. Just happy. He liked to meet a lot of people and he brought everybody light.”

As the candles burn in the night for Stands’ son, parents clutch their children.

Coursing through the event is a plea to the next generation to avoid the cycles of drug abuse and gang violence that create the need for these vigils.

That includes Waylon Stands, who helped raise Xavier.

“There’s only two ways out, death or jail. We don’t want that anymore. They don’t want us empowering ourselves, educating ourselves. We have the power, and it’s got to stop. Thank you all for coming out tonight. Wopila tunkasila for guiding us. Wopila.”

After sharing sage, prayer and tears, the family and community shared in song.

The Rapid City Police Department has two persons of interest in the case.

An anonymous tip can be submitted by texting the letters “RCPD” and the information to 847-411.

(Courtesy University of Arizona College of Nursing)

The University of Arizona College of Nursing has received a federal grant to help support Indigenous students pursing nursing careers.

The more than $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Indian Health Service will fund the “Indians in Nursing” program for five more years.

The program provides Indigenous students financial support for tuition, fees, and a living stipend.

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